Salako - The Story Of Our Life So Far By Nick Quantrill

Oh, the frustration of being a music fan. After whining long and hard about how recent years have been a lean period for good music and searching high and low for things for something to excite my ears, it came as somewhat of a surprise to find it lurking under my nose in Hull. Having only seen Salako once, and that being sometime ago, I wasn't expecting great things from them. Signed to the home of insipid indie rock, Jeepster, Salako had always struck me as being Super Furry Animals-lite.

Whilst the diet variety of soft drink can be a pleasant alternative, Salako circa 1999 was more like Coca-Cola with a twist of lemon. It was a disappointment. Thankfully Salako return in 2004 with a beefed up sound and the album builds on the promise of the tracks heard on BBC Raw Talent. The album has a distinctively Hull feel about it. From the presence of Fila Brazilia, to its artwork and lyrical content, it's a refreshingly honest album. Salako sing from the heart and not the wallet. Lyrically, the album is brilliantly engaging.

James Waudby is a man with a lot to say. Nowhere is this more evident, or relevant, than on Hull's Too Good For England. The paradox between feeling proud of where you come from whilst being aware of its unseemly side is nailed. For all the grim up north rhetoric of certain bands, nobody has articulated it so accurately before.

Musically, you could maybe criticise the album slightly for leaning a little too heavily on The Beatles. There are more than the occasional passing nods to the Fab Four in their later years.

Salako though, are one of the few bands who take this and attempt to add new elements to it. Although the songs remain closely focused on strong melodies, there are always lots of other interesting sounds and ideas colliding. Particular highlights include the aforementioned Hull's Too Good For England, Mountain/Molehill which has a slight country feel and hints at a style similar to Wilco, one the few guitar bands currently making innovative music and the forthcoming single Jonty's Fine.

Reading the cover notes and press elsewhere, this album appears to have been sometime in the making. If that is the case, it was certainly worth it as this is undoubtedly one of 2004's finest so far. Listen out for Salako's live session on BBC Humberside Raw Talent, on July 22nd... Website: www.salako.net

Album Reviews - Blue Sand - Changed Names and Slaves EP By Michelle Dee
	I was given the enigmatically titled Blue Sand EP and after a couple of hearings I was hooked. Blue Sand have played the Linnet and Lark on Princes Avenue and the newly refurbished Ringside venue in recent weeks. The title track has a touch of early Placebo Read more...

Album Reviews - The Alarm - In The Poppyfields (12-track album - Snapper Music - 2004) By Steve Rudd
	25 years down the punk-rock 'n' roll line and The Alarm - assembled around the ever-photogenic mainman Mike Peters - is still going strong. In fact, the Cardiff-based Alarm's ringing louder than ever on the back of some fabulous media exposure that vaulted right around the world and back because of the fact that Mike craftily decided Read more...

Album Reviews - CD Reviews - Emma Rugg - When I Looked at You (single) By Steve Rudd
	Still riding high on the uber-successful crest of her astounding debut album Isolated Impression, Emma's first glimmer of new work comes in the form of this exceptional song. On the back of her album, Emma ventured Stateside to record a couple of songs with Michigan songwriter Read more...

Album Reviews - Cracktown - Songs in the Key of Fuck Off (Pure West) By Steve Rudd - With the Knighthood Video!
	This gloriously outspoken Hull-based outfit revolves around the musical and lyrical talents of, err.. Silver Fox and King Rat?!?!!!!! Mmm - so says the CD cover! I don't honestly know why the two guys who shield their identities under the murky guise of Cracktown don't want their Read more...

Album Reviews - Ricky - The Summer Sun Still Echoes By Nick Quantrill
	Why exactly is there a review of a band from Portsmouth on a website about Hull you're probably thinking? I could talk about the similarities between the two cities as a reason, well, the naval traditions of them. I think I still feel deprived that my only school trip whilst at Hull Trinity House was a rather tedious Read more...

Album Reviews - The Uncle Devil Show - A Terrible Beauty (P3 Music) By Steve Rudd
	The Uncle Devil Show is actually a trio of very experienced and hugely respected musicians, all three of them Scottish. Just like ex-Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has recently emerged from the dark with an identity crisis on his part to play in the Cocker-disguised Relaxed Muscle incarnation, ex-Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie is one of the prime components of this new band (who's now ominously known as Jason Barr), who's Read more...

Album Reviews - Todd Rundgren - Liars (Sanctuary Records) By Steve Rudd
	All of these songs are about a paucity of truth. At first they may seem to be about other things, but that is just a reflection of how much dishonesty we have accepted in our daily lives. We are raised from birth to believe things that cannot be proven or that are plainly not true. People will often brag of their honesty, when there is so much they have simply chosen to ignore or leave Read more...

Music Reviews - Inner Terrestrials, Die For, Flatline (with Greg) Adelphi, Hull 21st March 2004 By Dick Spring
	Well, indeed, what an eventful evening! With Mark (Flatline's singer) unavailable due to work commitment, it was left up to Greg, from Freaks Union to join his friends for an impromptu run through a couple of songs. On the face of it, this seemed like a bit of fun, though it would appear that certain people saw it differently Read more...

Music Reviews-The Ordinary Boys,Mower,The Applewhites, The Hideaways at Adelphi, Hull 10 March By Dick Spring
	Well this is the second Under the Influence night I've experienced and it has left me impressed. It would appear there is another visionary Promoter in the city (alongside Nigel, of the legendary Smash it Up Punk Nights) that quite frankly leaves all the other rank amateurs standing. Speaking to Dean Shakespeare (for that is he) it was clear that here is a Read more...

Music Reviews - The Vultures, Blue Sand & Superscape at the Adelphi - Saturday 20th March 04 By Cilla
	This was one of those under-advertised gigs which do slip through the net sometimes, but which was really worth seeing. Really good atmosphere, friendly crowd and great music. I knew Superscape were playing and after watching them last week at the Welly, then hearing them do a stunning set on BBC Radio's Raw Talent, I really wanted to see them play again. I knew I wouldn't be Read more...